Rockefeller Alum Tackles Broadband, Homeland Security at FCC

Rockefeller College Alumna Jennifer A. Manner is one of two new deputy chiefs of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission.

UAlbany alumna Jennifer A. Manner (B.A. '86) is happy to be working again with former colleagues – who include other UAlbany alumni – at the Federal Communications Commission.

Manner is one of two new FCC deputy chiefs of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, as announced in July by Chairman Julius Genachowski, who was recently appointed by President Obama to head the agency.

Manner's primary role is to advise the bureau chief and the agency on broadband issues related to public safety and homeland security. She and her colleagues meet with stakeholders, including public safety officials, industry, and other government officials in order to meet the goal of ensuring that public safety and homeland security organizations have a resilient, reliable broadband communications network.

"The skills I learned at UAlbany, and the academic experiences I had laid the groundwork for me to engage in critical thinking and analytical reasoning necessary for this position," said Manner, who majored in political science at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. She also studied theatre arts.

Rockefeller College Dean Jeffrey D. Straussman said, "Jennifer Manner's career is a wonderful example of how our UAlbany students build the knowledge and skills they first learned at the University to have an impact on public policy."

Prior to taking the new post, Manner was a principal at ZComm Strategies, LLC, where she advised telecommunications companies on regulatory policy issues. Before that, she was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at SkyTerra Communications.

For a UAlbany graduate to go all the way to the Obama Administration "shows how important a good education is and demonstrates the value of a SUNYA education," Manner said.

A proponent of mentoring in professional life, Manner initiated an alumni mentoring program for UAlbany's Washington Semester intern students in 2007 in order to help students familiarize themselves with living and working in the nation's capital.

Manner grew up in Westchester County, and later lived in NYC and Washington, D.C.

After graduating from UAlbany, Manner earned her law degree cum laude from New York Law School, and later graduated with distinction from Georgetown University's master of law degree program in international and comparative law.